The Central District includes the
counties ofLos Angeles, Orange, Riverside,
San Bernardino,San Luis Obispo, Santa
Barbara, and Ventura. Itis the most
populated federal judicial district inthe
United States, exceeding 15.5 million. LosAngeles,
with 3.8 million people--an estimated8,146
persons per square mile--is the largest cityin
the state, and the second largest in the UnitedStates.
Four other cities within the district haveyear
2000 population estimates in excess of200,000
people: Long Beach (457,600), SantaAna
(317,700), Anaheim (310,700), and Riverside(259,700).
The district also boasts one of thebest
transportation infrastructures in the country.It
has an extensive coastline, intricate highwayand
railway systems, and a number of regionaland
international airports.

The Central District's coastline
extends over350 miles from the San Diego
County line in thesouth to the Monterey
County line in the northand is home to two
of the busiest maritime portsin the world,
Long Beach and Los Angeles. ThePort of Long
Beach is the nation's busiest maritimecargo
container facility, while the Port ofLos
Angeles ranks second; more than 7.9 million20-foot
cargo container units moved into the twoports
in fiscal year (FY) 1999.

Los Angeles is
also home to the world's thirdbusiest
airport--Los Angeles International Airport(LAX). Over 64 million people and over 2million tons of goods were moved through LAXin 1999. The airport handles over 1,000 cargoflights each day; 50 percent of this activity
isinternational in origin or
destination.

Residents of the Central
District primarilydepend on
automobiles for transportation and theLos
Angeles area has one of the most intricatehighway
systems in the world. Of these, Interstates5,
10, 15, and 40 connect the district to therest
of the nation. Interstate 5 runs from the U.S.-Canada
border to the U.S.-Mexico border andlinks Los Angeles to other key West Coast
citiessuch as San Diego, Oakland, San
Francisco,Sacramento, Portland, and
Seattle. Interstate 10originates in
Santa Monica, California, and runsacross
the United States to I-95
in Jacksonville,Florida.
Interstate 15 originates in the district andruns
northeast through Las Vegas, Nevada, to theU.S.-Canada
border in Montana. Interstate 40originates
at I-15 in
the district and runs east, terminatingin
Wilmington, North Carolina. In addition,state
highways 1 and 101 are extensivelytraveled
coastal roadways.

The district is serviced by
transcontinentaland regional
passenger rail lines and two majorfreight
railways. Many of the regional routesconnect
the district to San Diego, near the U.S.-Mexico
border, while the transcontinental routeextends
east to the heartland of the country.

The Los Angeles High
Intensity Drug TraffickingArea
(HIDTA) encompasses Los Angeles,Orange,
Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.The
Los Angeles HIDTA considers the overlandtransportation
of illicit drugs the number onethreat.
The Los Angeles area is a major storageand
transshipment point for illicit drugs smuggledto
other states, as well as to Canada and somePacific
Rim countries. Los Angeles is a majortransshipment
point for the exportation of drugproceeds
to other countries.

All major drugs of abuse are
readily availablein the
Central District. According to law enforcementofficials,
powdered and crack cocaine andmethamphetamine
present the most significantthreats.
The district is a major methamphetamineproduction
source not only for the state but alsofor
much of the country. Mexican black tar heroinis
the predominant heroin marketed within thedistrict.
Marijuana is the most available drug inthe
district; both marijuana transshipment anddomestic
cannabis cultivation are significantthreats
to the district. Mexican marijuana iswidely
available and least expensive. The abuseof
other dangerous drugs, such as MDMA, GHB(gamma-hydroxybutyrate),
LSD (lysergic aciddiethylamide), and
Rohypnol, usually associatedwith rave
parties, is significantly affecting thedistrict.
Of particular concern is that youngerparty
crowds, including teenagers, are abusingthese
drugs.

Mexican drug trafficking
organizations(DTOs) and
criminal groups control most of thedrug
distribution in the Los Angeles HIDTA.Mexican
DTOs use underground networks tomove
or distribute illegal drugs, weapons, andaliens.
These networks, typically based on familyties,
impede law enforcement as undercoverofficers
and confidential informants cannot infiltrateand
gain access to the network.

The Los Angeles HIDTA
identified 156 criminalDTOs
operating regionally, nationally, andinternationally.
Of these, 76 percent (118) operateat
the national (47) or international (71) level. Thedegree
of involvement ranges from organizationsengaging
in all facets of the drug trade to organizationsinvolved
in a single activity, such as transportation.Sixty-three
percent--primarily MexicanDTOs--traffic
in cocaine. Many also are involvedin
the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine(44%)
and the distribution of marijuana(15%)
and heroin (13%). According to the FederalBureau
of Investigation (FBI), the Arellano-Felixorganization
and, to a lesser extent, the Carrillo-Fuentes and Caro-Quintero
organizations controltrafficking and
distribution activities within theLos
Angeles Field Office's jurisdiction.

Drug-related arrest data are
helpful in determiningthe overall
drug problem. According todata from
the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs for Los
Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Luis
Obispo, and Ventura Counties, adult drug-related felonies and misdemeanors
fluctuated between 1993 and 1997, reaching a high of almost 128,000 in
1997. In each of the years from 1993 to 1997, the number of adult
drug-related felonies accounted for over half of all drug-related arrests.
Juvenile drug-related arrests represented about 8 percent of all
drug-related arrests in 1993 and remained relatively stable. (See Table
1.)

While drug-related arrests have slightly increased, crime
rate statistics indicate that the overall crime rate in the Central
District gradually declined between 1993 and 1998, as did the violent
crime rate. Property crime rates decreased 41 percent from 14,255 per
100,000 persons in 1993 to 8,377 per 100,000 persons in 1998. Willful
homicide rates decreased 42 percent from 67 per 100,000 persons in 1993 to
38 per 100,000 persons in 1998.

Although there was a 42 percent decline in the homicide
rate for the entire district between 1993 and 1998, according to a news
report, the number of homicides in Los Angeles increased from 192
homicides in 1999 to 250 in the first half of 2000. The report further
states that a possible resurgence in gang activity may be a major cause of
the recent increase in violence and homicides in Los Angeles, more than 40
percent of which were gang-related.

Increased law enforcement pressure in urban areas is
causing gangs to establish new territories and markets in smaller
communities and rural areas. As a result, gang violence is spreading from
urban to rural areas. Within the Central District, Los Angeles County has
an estimated 1,350 gangs with 152,000 members. Most notable are the
Mexican Mafia, Bloods, Crips, and the 18th Street Gang. Many of these Los
Angeles-based gangs have chapters in cities throughout the United States.
These gangs are extremely violent and create harmful environments that
threaten public safety.